The short answer
Every skip has a weight limit as well as a size. Yarra Valley Skip Bins publishes 1.0 tonne for a 4 m³ light load and 1.3 tonnes for a heavy one; other companies set their own. Going over costs extra: M Tucker & Sons charges $40.00 per 100 kg. Soil, concrete and bricks reach the limit long before the skip looks full, which is why heavy jobs use small skips filled level, never heaped.
Why skips have a weight limit
Skip companies pay the tip by the tonne. Transfer stations in the east charge waste by weight (Whitehorse, for one, charges $407.00 per tonne for rubbish), and every tonne that goes to landfill in metropolitan Melbourne carries EPA Victoria’s landfill levy, $177.19 per tonne from 1 July 2026. A skip price includes a set weight; anything over it is passed on.
The truck matters too: a skip has to be lifted and carried on the road. M Tucker & Sons, for one, says overfilled bins “cannot be transported”.
Published weight limits by size
Few companies in the east publish their limits. Yarra Valley Skip Bins, in Dixons Creek, does: one limit for light mixed loads (household and garden waste) and a higher one for heavy mixed loads (soil, concrete, tiles).
Skip weight limits, Yarra Valley Skip Bins
| Skip size | Light mixed load | Heavy mixed load |
|---|---|---|
| 2 m³ | 0.6 t | 0.9 t |
| 3 m³ | 0.8 t | 1.0 t |
| 4 m³ | 1.0 t | 1.3 t |
| 6 m³ | 1.2 t | 1.5 t |
| 8 m³ | 1.5 t | 1.8 t |
| 10 m³ | 1.6 t | 2.0 t |
| 12 m³ | 1.7 t | 2.2 t |
As Yarra Valley Skip Bins publishes them (page last modified 2 June 2026), checked 12 October 2026. Its single-material loads (100% concrete, dry dirt, brick or green waste) are priced separately, in skips up to 8 m³. Other companies’ limits differ: ask for yours in writing.
Other limits you’ll see: Trailer Trash caps its trailer bins at 1,200 kg, and Aussie Skip Bags’ 1, 2 and 3 m³ bags take 200, 400 and 600 kg.
What going over costs
Overweight and overfilling charges in the east
| Charge | Published price | Who publishes it |
|---|---|---|
| Over the weight limit | $40.00 per 100 kg | M Tucker & Sons, Mount Evelyn (GST included) |
| Over the weight limit (trailer bins) | $45 per 100 kg, to no more than 1,200 kg | Trailer Trash, Lilydale prices |
| Weight limit reached at disposal | ”The bin price increases” | Yarra Valley Skip Bins, Dixons Creek |
| Overfilled skip that can’t be moved | $110.00 return fee | M Tucker & Sons, Mount Evelyn (GST included) |
Each row is one company’s published charge, not ours. Trailer Trash and Yarra Valley Skip Bins don’t state GST. Most companies don’t publish overweight rates at all: ask before you book. M Tucker & Sons and Yarra Valley checked 12 October 2026; Trailer Trash 1 October 2026.
By our arithmetic at M Tucker & Sons’ rate, a 4 m³ heavy load that weighs 1.8 tonnes against a 1.3 t limit is 500 kg over: 5 × $40.00, or $200 on top of the hire. M Tucker & Sons also says “Bins must not be filled above the rim”: an overfilled skip can’t be transported, and the return fee comes on top of having to unload it.
How much a full skip weighs
EPA Victoria publishes conversion figures for stockpiled waste, in tonnes per cubic metre. By our arithmetic, here’s what a 2 m³ and a 4 m³ skip weigh filled level with each material, against Yarra Valley’s heavy limits of 0.9 t and 1.3 t:
A level-full skip of one material, by weight
| Material | EPA figure (t per m³) | 2 m³ skip, full | 4 m³ skip, full |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soil | 1.8 | 3.6 t | 7.2 t |
| Sand | 1.7 | 3.4 t | 6.8 t |
| Broken concrete | 1.5 | 3.0 t | 6.0 t |
| Bricks | 1.2 | 2.4 t | 4.8 t |
| Masonry rubble | 1.0 | 2.0 t | 4.0 t |
| Plasterboard | 0.22 | 0.44 t | 0.88 t |
| Loose green waste | 0.15 | 0.3 t | 0.6 t |
Densities: EPA Victoria, Waste Mass Balance Guideline (Publication 2040), Table 3, for stockpiled waste. Full-skip weights are our arithmetic (volume × density). Wet soil and clay can weigh more.
Light waste never gets near the limit; heavy waste passes it with the skip a third full. That’s why companies price 100% soil, concrete or brick loads on their own terms, and why heavy jobs use 2 to 4 m³ skips. The soil and concrete weight calculator works out your own job in tonnes.
Staying under the limit
- Tell the skip company what’s going in, especially soil, concrete, bricks, tiles or render, so it’s booked as the right load.
- Keep heavy materials apart: a skip of one clean material often has a different price and limit from a mixed load.
- Fill level with the top edge, and spread heavy waste along the floor rather than in one end.
- Keep soil and rubble dry where you can: wet material weighs more.
- Ask for a weighbridge docket if you’re charged for overweight. EPA Victoria already advises asking for a docket showing where your waste went.
Sizing a renovation? See what size skip for a bathroom or kitchen, or compare every size on skip bin sizes.
Common questions
What is the weight limit on a 4 m³ skip?
It depends on the company. Yarra Valley Skip Bins publishes 1.0 tonne for a light mixed load and 1.3 tonnes for a heavy mixed load in its 4 m³ skip. Ask your skip company for its limit before you book.
What happens if my skip is overweight?
You pay extra, charged after the skip is weighed at the tip. M Tucker & Sons charges $40.00 per 100 kg over its limit; Yarra Valley Skip Bins says the bin price increases.
How much does a skip full of soil weigh?
By our arithmetic from EPA Victoria’s figure of 1.8 tonnes per m³ for stockpiled soil, a 2 m³ skip filled level weighs about 3.6 tonnes, far over any published limit for that size. That’s why soil is usually priced as a single-material load with its own terms.
Can I fill a skip above the top?
No. Fill it level with the top edge. M Tucker & Sons says bins must not be filled above the rim, and an overfilled skip can’t be transported; it charges a $110.00 return fee.
Where this information comes from
The rules and prices on this page come from these published pages, checked on 12 October 2026.
- Yarra Valley Skip Bins: skip bin hire prices · Skip hire business, Dixons Creek (Yarra Ranges); price table by size, waste and weight limit, no visible date, GST not stated
- M Tucker & Sons: skip bins Ringwood · Skip hire business, Mount Evelyn; published hire terms and extra charges (no price table), GST included
- Trailer Trash: skip bin hire Lilydale · Trailer-bin hire business; prices shown for postcode 3140, page updated 26 October 2025, GST not stated
- Aussie Skip Bags · Skip bag business; bag sizes, weight limits and bag prices, pick-up priced by postcode
- EPA Victoria: Waste Mass Balance Guideline (Publication 2040), Table 3 · State regulator guideline, January 2022; conversion factors for commonly stockpiled waste, tonnes per m³
- Whitehorse Recycling and Waste Centre: items accepted at a charge · Council fees 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, including levy and GST
- EPA Victoria: waste levy · State regulator levy rates, updated 20 May 2026
- EPA Victoria: EPA blitz on rogue skip bin operators · State regulator media release, 4 May 2026